


Courage, Dear Heart

by babyfairy



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Romance, Slice of Life, Teashop AU, and aang is aang, toph is a shithead, zuko is adorkable
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-27
Updated: 2017-03-27
Packaged: 2018-10-11 14:23:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10467087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/babyfairy/pseuds/babyfairy
Summary: Maybe his luck isn't always so terrible.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [glitterjongdae](https://archiveofourown.org/users/glitterjongdae/gifts).



> A short and sweet modern AU for a my soulmate over [here](http://lipsticktaehyung.tumblr.com/) on tumblr!!

She comes in often. 

Her order is simple; chamomile tea with two small cakes. 

He knows many things just from observing her. Unfortunately, those things have yet to include her name.

Still, he knows this: she’s a medical student; the sweatshirt hanging over her chair reads Ba Sing Se University on the back. She’s very organized - her notebook is clean and put together, even has a few tabs peeking out. 

Uncle insists that her preference for chamomile tea says that she’s a calm and wise girl, but he disagrees - after all, Uncle wasn’t there to witness the way she broke that Jet kid’s nose across the street two weeks ago.

That may have been the start of his crush, but no one needs to know that. 

Sometimes Zuko thinks he’s worked up the courage to do more than mumble about her order when he brings it to her (and then proceeds to walk away as quickly and stiffly as he can), but something usually dashes that thought (like when his foot catches on the chair three tables away from her and he nearly goes sprawling face down into the tile, and has to all but crawl behind the counter so that she can’t actually reach him while she’s asking if he’s okay).

Today, she comes in on time, but something is new; she has friends with her.

Zuko watches from the kitchen doorway as he cleans the tea pot lids, his eyes narrowing just a bit. This is new. He hasn’t seen her in here with others before. 

Her companions look young; the other girl is small and pale, with a mess of thick black hair falling in her eyes. The boy is only slightly taller than them both, with an orange beanie on his head and a blue arrow peaking out from under the material.

They’re louder than the usual crowd as they settle. Zuko continues to sneak peeks at them as he prepares her usual order, adding extra cakes until he can prepare what her companions want. 

“Katara! Watch this - I finally mastered that juggling move!”

Zuko lifts his head. Katara. He glances over his shoulder, watching the kid prepare for his trick. She’s watching, but her brows are furrowed.

Katara. That’s her name. Katara.

“Aang,” Katara says, the hesitance in her voice clear even from here, “I don’t think that’s such a good idea. You could break something.” 

She’s probably right, but that isn’t Zuko’s main concern at the moment. He smiles to himself as he arranges the cups on the tray. Katara. What an interesting name.

But as he brings the tray out, his concerns start to shift. The kid - Aang - is currently juggling the decorative candle holders, all three of them, with an animated look on his face. 

“I can do it!” He insists. Their other companion, the young girl with the messy hair, snorts loudly, picking at her finger nails.

Zuko approaches and clears his throat. He feels the color in his cheeks beginning to rise when Katara looks at him, feels his heart flipping against his ribs when she offers him a warm and slightly shy smile. She’s smiled at him every day that he’s served her, and he hasn’t forgotten a single one.

He sets the tray down in the center of the table, ready to ask what they’d like, but the second he opens his mouth, Aang fumbles the candle holders. Zuko closes his mouth, watching as one by one they crash against the table and shatter.

Katara winces.

“Saw that coming,” The other girl scoffs, “And I can’t even see.”

For a moment, it’s silent as Zuko simply stares at the shattered pieces of glass scattered on the table top and the floor. He knows that Uncle won’t be mad, but he’s pretty irritated - Uncle spent hours picking those things out just to make the table tops look nice.

“I’m so sorry!” Aang blurts, jumping back, his chair nearly tipping over. “I had a handle on that, I swear I did - I’m sorry, I’ll pay for everything!”

“Don’t move,” Is all Zuko says as he kneels down. “You might get hurt.” He takes care to gather the broken shards in his palm, trying to tune out the kid’s anxious babbling.

He pauses when a hand much darker than his slides past his fingers, gathering the glass as well. Katara kneels beside him, closer than she’s ever been, close enough for Zuko to nearly drop everything in his hands. 

“I’m sorry about this,” She apologizes, the grimace in her voice clear. She’s careful as she gathers the shards; they stand out in sharp contrast against the warm brown color of her skin. “We’ll pay for this, I swear.”

Zuko looks up. For a good two minutes he’s lost in those blue eyes, swimming contently in their depths. But then he remembers where he is and shakes himself out of his stupor. 

“It’s fine,” He insists. He hesitates, almost losing his nerve, and then he looks up again, steeling himself despite the blush on his cheeks. “You can repay me with - with a date, if that’s not too much trouble.”

Katara’s eyes widen. The surprise is written clear across her face, and Zuko is afraid that his heart is going to pound right out of his chest and run away, like he wants to. It feels like the silence is stretching on forever, torturing him with the length of it.

And then she begins to blush, and it’s the prettiest thing he thinks he’s ever seen - until that shy smile makes another appearance, and really, it’s unfair to try to decide what about her is her prettiest feature, everything is so gorgeous.

“That sounds doable,” Katara responds, the lilt to her voice teasing. “There’s a festival coming up.”

Zuko nods, feeling a smile of his own emerge. “I’d like that.” He stands, places the glass shards on the tray, and helps Katara up. Her skin is surprisingly cool to the touch, a welcome contrast to his own warmth.

“If you two are done making us sick,” The other girl cuts in, digging her smallest finger into her ear, “I’d like the house special, please.”

Katara blushes again. “Shut up, Toph,” She hisses between her teeth, a tight smile on her face. 

Ducking his head, Zuko gathers the tray and it’s broken contents and carries it behind the counter, into the kitchen.

A name and a date all in one day. Maybe he isn’t so unlucky after all.


End file.
